Thanks for the looks and comments, everyone. They really help. And a special thanks to Antonio who sent me some great shots of this beast. It turns out that the plane I'm modeling had covers on the wheels, a different gun set up and no fairings on the landing gear legs!

Trouble is, I like the spoke wheels etc. and the gun with the side tray of ammo just screams "cool". So I'm saying it was having some maintenance and experimenting with armaments!

Here is is with my custom mix. I like the color though I'm not sure how accurate it is. I have a feeling that the Italian planes were not stark white. I've seen Nieuports and SPADS that are cream/yellow/linen in color and they look great with the green and red markings...so this is my interpretation!



You can also see I made the spoke wheels, started painting the engine and the bottom of the wing surfaces. I made brown colored pencil lines along ribs so you can see them a bit. Can't wait to put the markings on. Then some weathering and then start careful assembly!
Wish me luck...Dan